Pages

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Reds five-game winning streak halted as Mets avoid sweep

He didn't pitch very well again.

The Reds (71-47) were riding a five-game winning streak and looking to sweep the Mets (56-62), but New York and Matt Harvey (W 2-3, 3.00) had other ideas. Harvey struck out eight, while allowing just one earned run on four hits over 7.2 innings to lead the Metropolitans to an 8-4 victory. Homer Bailey (L 10-8, 4.16) once again struggled for the Reds, while the bats were kept mostly quiet all night by the Mets' pitching staff and a ninth inning rally fell short. You win five, you lose some I guess.

Here's the good, the bad, and the notables:The Good
-Jay Bruce collected a seventh-inning RBI (74) to get the Reds on the scoreboard, then doubled and scored a run in the ninth.
-Brandon Phillips recorded a double and a run scored.
-Ryan Ludwick hit his 22nd home run of the year in the ninth.
-Alfredo Simon delivered 1.1 scoreless innings of relief, while Logan Ondrusek added one of his own.
-Miguel Cairo and Zack Cozart tried to rally the Reds in the ninth. Cairo knocked in a run (9) with a single. Cozart doubled to get his 27th RBI of the year. Sadly it was too late and the comeback bid was unsuccessful.
-There wasn't a ton of good in this one, but hey, the Reds are bound to have a sub-par game every once in a while.

The Bad
-Bailey got through 5.2 innings but allowed six runs, four of them earned, on six hits including two home runs. He walked three and struck out six.
-Phillips, Cozart, and Scott Rolen who make up one of the best infields in baseball, all committed an error tonight.
-Jose Arredondo gave up two runs, one earned, in his one inning of work.
-The Reds left seven on base and went 3-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
-Jason Bay hit a home run. That's pretty bad.

The Notables
-Bailey had a run of five starts, where he went 4-0 with a 1.43 ERA, but has allowed six, four, four, and six runs in his last four starts.
-The Reds are still in first place.
-It was 84 degrees and overcast as the Reds and Mets were able to finish the game before any major storms hit.
-The best remedy for coming off a loss is to send Johnny Cueto to the mound. The Reds can't do that so they'll do the next best thing and play the Cubs starting Friday night at 7:10pm in Great American Ball Park. Bronson Arroyo (8-7, 3.95) will square off against former Red Travis Wood (4-8, 4.52).